Read the full stored bill text
A5173
ASSEMBLY, No. 5173
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 1, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� ANTWAN L. MCCLELLAN
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Assemblywoman� VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman� CHIGOZIE U. ONYEMA
District 28 (Essex and Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� �Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Driver Communication and
Disability Protection Act�; revises and establishes process for designating
certain disorders through MVC.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning protections for drivers with certain
disorders, designated as the �Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Driver Communication and
Disability Protection Act,� and amending P.L.2023, c.57.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.2023,
c.57 (C.39:3-10f8) is amended to read as follows:�
���� 1.��� a.� The Chief
Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall allow the holder
of a driver�s license or non-driver identification card to indicate that the
person has been diagnosed with
:
�
����
(1)
�� an autism
spectrum disorder
[
or
]
;
����
(2)�� a
communication
disorder
, which shall include, but not be limited to, stuttering; or
����
(3)�� Tourette Syndrome
.
���� b.���
Upon
request by any person who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
[
or
]
, a
communication
disorder,
or Tourette Syndrome,
or by the parent, guardian, or caregiver
of the person, and upon submission of any documentation required pursuant to
subsection c. of this section, the chief administrator shall indicate the
[
autism
spectrum disorder or communication disorder
]
applicable
diagnosis by notating such information on the person�s driver�s
license or non-driver identification card under the column designated for
restrictions
and, for the purposes of communicating with law enforcement
officers pursuant to subsection f. of this section, on the person�s motor
vehicle registration information.� However, the diagnosis notation shall be
confined solely to the person�s driver�s license or non-driver identification
card, and to the person�s motor vehicle registration information, and shall not
require issuance of a secondary document
.
���� c.���� The chief administrator
shall, in consultation with the Commissioner of Human Services, establish the
documentation required to be produced by a person who has been diagnosed with
an autism spectrum disorder
[
or
]
, a
communication disorder,
or Tourette Syndrome,
or by the parent,
guardian, or caregiver of the person, in order to receive
[
a driver�s
license or non-driver identification card with
]
the
diagnosis
notation authorized pursuant to subsection b. of this
section.
���� d.��� The Commissioner of
Human Services and the Attorney General, in consultation with the
Superintendent of the Division of State Police within the Department of Law and
Public Safety and at least one organization that advocates on behalf of persons
who have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
[
or
]
, a
communication disorder,
or Tourette Syndrome,
shall jointly develop
guidance to assist law enforcement officers in effectively communicating with a
person who has been diagnosed with
[
an
autism spectrum disorder or communication
]
any such
disorder.� The Attorney General shall ensure that a copy of the
written guidance, and any other related materials developed to facilitate
compliance with the guidance, is distributed to each police department in the
State.
����
e.���� When the chief
administrator receives a request for a diagnosis notation pursuant to
subsection b. of this section, the chief administrator shall permit the person
making the request to submit emergency contact information for the person
diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a communication disorder, or
Tourette Syndrome.
����
f.���� The commission shall
ensure that law enforcement agencies in the State have access to the diagnosis
notation on a person�s motor vehicle information, issued pursuant to subsection
b. of this section, and any emergency contact information for that person,
submitted pursuant to subsection e. of this section, during a traffic stop when
a law enforcement officer accesses the motor vehicle�s license plate
information through the commission�s online interface with law enforcement
agencies.� The information shared with law enforcement agencies pursuant to
this subsection shall only be used by law enforcement officers to communicate during
a traffic stop with a person diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a
communication disorder, or Tourette Syndrome.
����
g.��� The commission may
adopt, pursuant to the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410
(C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as necessary to implement the
provisions of this section.
(cf:� P.L.2023, c.57, s.1)
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the 180th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill, which is designated
as the �Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Driver Communication and Disability Protection
Act,� amends current law to: �revise the process for a person seeking to notate
an autism spectrum disorder or a communication disorder diagnosis on a driver�s
license or non-driver identification card through the New Jersey Motor Vehicle
Commission (commission); and expand that process to include diagnosis notations
for individuals with Tourette Syndrome and to include such diagnosis notations
on a person�s motor vehicle registration information for the purposes of
communicating with law enforcement during traffic stops.� Specifically, the
bill clarifies that a communication disorder, under current law, is to include
stuttering.� In addition, the bill provides that the diagnosis notation is to
be limited to a person�s driver�s license or non-driver identification card,
and to a person�s motor vehicle registration information, and is not to require
the issuance of secondary documentation.� The bill also requires the commission
to permit a person seeking a diagnosis notation to submit emergency contact
information for the person diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a
communication disorder, or Tourette Syndrome.� Under the bill, the emergency
contact information, in addition to a person�s diagnosis notation on their motor
vehicle registration information, is to be accessible to law enforcement during
a traffic stop when the law enforcement officer accesses the motor vehicle�s
license plate information through the commission�s online interface with law
enforcement agencies.� This information is to be exclusively available to law
enforcement officers for the purposes of communicating during a traffic stop with
a person diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a communication disorder,
or Tourette Syndrome.